After listening to Silver Snakes’ excellent new record, you can easily hear how the band was pegged to open the current tour featuring The Ocean, Scale The Summit, and The Atlas Moth. They are like the other bands on the bill in that they take a particular form of music — in the case of Silver Snakes it is hardcore — and expand upon its parameters without diluting any of the core music’s original power. Dare I say, there is a little touch of prog — the songs are dynamic, but don’t worry: the guitars have a nice layer of sonic dirt on top of them, so it still delivers a strong punch to the gut.

Opener “Four Crows” starts with a wash of clean guitars, then becomes faster and more urgent. “Smokestack” locks into a dirty hard rock lurch before throwing in a noisy, feedback-laden break, and returning the driving grungy rock that starts out the song. “Sundance” is epic and dynamic, switching effortlessly between quiet and loud parts, ending an extended 30-second wash of feedback. “No Color” features a great monolithic riff. “Vivora” and “Red” are eerie semi-acoustic tunes that wear their darkness proudly. Closer “In Our Bones” takes all the different aspects of the band’s sound and molds it into one epic seven-minute slice of post-hardcore.

Those who like the more adventurous side of hardcore will find much to enjoy on this album. The band has created a genre-expanding work that should also appeal to people who like loud rock that pushes boundaries.

(Bridge Nine Records, 119 Foster Street, Building 4 Suite 3, Peabody, MA 01960)